Visit My Website

Become a Fan

August 12, 2013

:: give-away winner ::

It has been a very busy, chaotic week, so I am sorry for letting the ball drop in posting a winner for the giveaway from my last post.

The winner of the Big Blocks, Big Style book and the Nordic Visions fabric bundle is Angele. I agree with her comment about GE Designs book and fabric....

"Wow, I do love that fabric. The big block book is just what I need to get going. Thanks for giving me the chance to participate in this giveaway."

I will be sending you an email to get all your info so we can ship it all out to you.

Now for a fun bit of exciting news....

I finally have my new patterns finished and hope to get them from the printer this week. So I thought I would take the next few days and share them with you.

All Geared Up Quilt - Version 1

Out of the hundreds of quilts I've made, this one is WAY up at the top of the list. In fact, I like it so much that I made it twice, which is something that I rarely do! With the fabric line Around Town, I really wanted to concentrate on designs that were circular, or gave the feeling of being round, and this one really does that.

I fussy cut the large scale house print from Around Town into circles and appliqued them in the center of all the gear blocks for the quilt on the cover of the pattern. There are several different shops on this fabric, but my favorite is the Chocolate Shop, for obvious reasons!

For another version, I wanted to use gray, red and black for the men in my house. I find it very difficult to find fabric suitable for guys, so when I saw the mustaches and geometric prints I had to use them. This quilt is now hanging in our family room and I love it.

All Geared Up Quilt - Version 2

The blocks may look difficult, but they really are not that hard with the techniques that I used. You have to trust me on this one. No paper piecing, no tricky seams, just accurate cutting and pressing. Yes, there are curved seams, and if you have never made a block with curved seams, don't be afraid. They are not hard. Once you try it, you will wonder what you were afraid of!

I will say, however, that with this pattern, it is especially helpful if you have a few specialty rulers as well. I used a 15 degree wedge ruler, the Spider Web ruler and the Swirly Girls Circle Savvy ruler, which made cutting the pieces easy and quick. You can also make your own templates if you choose to, but it goes faster with the rulers and I found that I was more accurate with them, which is important with these blocks. I included instructions for making the blocks either with the rulers or with templates, so you can try both methods to see which works best for you.

So this pattern, called All Geared Up, should be ready to ship later this week. I will get them up on my website in the next few days, so if you check there and don't see them, just keep checking back.

AND, if you leave me a comment before midnight tomorrow, you will have a chance to get one of the patterns for free! Just tell me if you prefer to applique with fusible web, if you turn the edges under, or if you simply stay clear of any quilt with applique on it.

Comments

It has been a very busy, chaotic week, so I am sorry for letting the ball drop in posting a winner for the giveaway from my last post.

The winner of the Big Blocks, Big Style book and the Nordic Visions fabric bundle is Angele. I agree with her comment about GE Designs book and fabric....

"Wow, I do love that fabric. The big block book is just what I need to get going. Thanks for giving me the chance to participate in this giveaway."

I will be sending you an email to get all your info so we can ship it all out to you.

Now for a fun bit of exciting news....

I finally have my new patterns finished and hope to get them from the printer this week. So I thought I would take the next few days and share them with you.

All Geared Up Quilt - Version 1

Out of the hundreds of quilts I've made, this one is WAY up at the top of the list. In fact, I like it so much that I made it twice, which is something that I rarely do! With the fabric line Around Town, I really wanted to concentrate on designs that were circular, or gave the feeling of being round, and this one really does that.

I fussy cut the large scale house print from Around Town into circles and appliqued them in the center of all the gear blocks for the quilt on the cover of the pattern. There are several different shops on this fabric, but my favorite is the Chocolate Shop, for obvious reasons!

For another version, I wanted to use gray, red and black for the men in my house. I find it very difficult to find fabric suitable for guys, so when I saw the mustaches and geometric prints I had to use them. This quilt is now hanging in our family room and I love it.

All Geared Up Quilt - Version 2

The blocks may look difficult, but they really are not that hard with the techniques that I used. You have to trust me on this one. No paper piecing, no tricky seams, just accurate cutting and pressing. Yes, there are curved seams, and if you have never made a block with curved seams, don't be afraid. They are not hard. Once you try it, you will wonder what you were afraid of!

I will say, however, that with this pattern, it is especially helpful if you have a few specialty rulers as well. I used a 15 degree wedge ruler, the Spider Web ruler and the Swirly Girls Circle Savvy ruler, which made cutting the pieces easy and quick. You can also make your own templates if you choose to, but it goes faster with the rulers and I found that I was more accurate with them, which is important with these blocks. I included instructions for making the blocks either with the rulers or with templates, so you can try both methods to see which works best for you.

So this pattern, called All Geared Up, should be ready to ship later this week. I will get them up on my website in the next few days, so if you check there and don't see them, just keep checking back.

AND, if you leave me a comment before midnight tomorrow, you will have a chance to get one of the patterns for free! Just tell me if you prefer to applique with fusible web, if you turn the edges under, or if you simply stay clear of any quilt with applique on it.